Sent and Received
by evelinaonline
Summary: It's not easy having a best friend that lives at the other side of Ninjago, and it's certainly not easy to cope with your secret feelings for them. Jay and Cole found out that there's a third obstacle they have to surpass in order for the circle to finally close, and that's meeting up for the first time. [Online Friends AU] [Bruiseshipping, Jay x Cole]


**Hello, I'm Eve, and as you may or may not know, some of my best friends live at the other side of the world XD**

 **Today's subject is online friendships! More specifically, meeting your online crush in real life for the first time, and dealing with anxiety that it might cause. I don't want to get into details, so I'll see you at the end of this one-shot!**

* * *

' _Where are you?'_

 _Message Sent._

Jay Walker wasn't a man of words. A man of texts, sure, but words? They terrified Jay. That wasn't to say he wasn't excited to meet his best friend in person though.

It felt like it was only yesterday that Jay found Cole's profile on Chirp. They had been mutuals for a while, until Cole posted something about being bored and wanting to talk to someone, and somehow, Jay gathered up the courage to message him.

It was the best decision he had ever made.

Cole Brookstone was one of a kind. He was funny, charming, caring, and most importantly, a loyal friend.

The two boys soon found out that they got along very well, and so they kept in touch. Every day, Jay looked forward to coming back from school to talk to Cole. The moment he stepped into his home, his fingers were already tapping against his cellphone's screen.

Jay didn't really have any friends at school. He was very self-conscious and quite shy, and talking to others wasn't his thing. He usually just scribbled on his notebook during breaks, waiting for school hours to end so that he could go home and chat with Cole.

He was lucky enough Cole and him had very similar schedules. When they first met, both of them were at their second to last year of high school, and finished school at the same time every day.

It had been two years since they had found each other, but their friendship was limited to texts, due to them living in two completely different parts of Ninjago. They knew how the other looked and sounded like, but it was rare for them to have voice calls or video calls.

They tried face calling once, and Cole insisted he'd pass out if he stared at Jay for too long. Jay was just too adorable, he had said. Jay teased him, telling him he'd have to constantly look at the floor if they ever met in real life.

Voice calls were more common than face ones. They'd usually happen late at night, when they were both too tired to type. It was fun to whisper in the middle of the night, giggling at their jokes, while trying not to be heard by their parents. Sometimes they'd even fall asleep while still being on speaker.

Regardless, texts had always been the way to go for them. The best conversations always happened late at night, when none of them could focus on what they were typing. Their favourite game was trying to guess what their sleepy selves meant, the next morning.

Jay would never be able to count how many times he had bursted out laughing in front of his computer and phone screen.

Not all times were happy, however. Sometimes, the things against the glass wouldn't be his fingertips, but his tears. Jay didn't want to admit it, but he had cried himself to sleep more times than he could remember: He just wanted Cole to be there, physically next to him.

And now, for the first time, they were going to meet in person.

Ninjago City was known for its college, Ninjago Academy, one of the best schools in Ninjago. The moment they found out they would both be attending college there, they requested to become roomates.

Usually, Jay would despise going back to school. What was there to like about studying anyway? He decided to give this year a chance though. His mom had promised that college was way more fun than high school.

Besides, you don't get to meet your best friend in person every day… Unless, of course, you are normal like everybody else, and Jay certainly wasn't normal.

He sighed, anxiously bouncing his leg while leaning against the wall, and firmly holding the handle of his suitcase. The two friends decided to meet up before visiting their new school, but Cole wasn't showing any sign of showing up.

Jay flinched at the buzzing sensation his phone sent up his arm. He quickly turned it on, checking his messsages.

' _Where is that tea shop again?'_

Jay groaned once he read the message. He had been waiting in front of Steep Wisdom, Ninjago's most popular tea shop, for ten minutes now, and he felt as if everyone was staring at him.

' _Across the coffee shop -.- How many times are you planning on asking?'_

' _Meh, who knows? ;)'_

Jay shook his head. "Stop texting and start searching, idiot…" he mumbled under his breath. His thoughts were interrupted by another buzz. Scared to read another one of Cole's replies, he looked at the screen again.

' _I see you!'_

Jay had a mini heart attack the moment he read the text. He was really going to see him.

Snapping himself out of his current state, he looked around, trying to spot Cole. He couldn't understand why he couldn't see him. The street was very quiet, mainly because it was Monday evening. Jay got dizzy as he scanned the road, looking left and right, right and left again-

"Hey Blue."

Jay looked up, blinking. Apparently, looking too hard resulted in him not seeing another male approaching him.

The guy was tall, had black hair, dark skin, and a pair of green eyes. He was wearing a black hoodie, one that Jay recognised from his pictures.

Jay stared in awe for a second. He had to double check, to make sure this was real and that he wasn't dreaming.

And then he grinned, wider than he ever had before.

"Cole!" Jay almost yelled as he leaned in to hug his best friend.

Cole was smiling too, maybe even wider than Jay. He returned the hug, and Jay immediately noticed how easily he got burried in his arms. He didn't care; Jay let himself relax, and felt tears form in the corner of his eyes.

The two of them pulled away, staring into each other's eyes. Cole's looked much more shiny in real life. Jay noticed how they, too, had become watery.

Before they were able to exchange any other word, Cole bursted out laughing.

Jay raised an eyebrow, but wasn't able to get rid of the upsided curve on his face. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry," Cole chuckled, wiping a tear from his cheek. "It's just that you are way smaller than I had imagined."

"Hey!" Jay smacked him across the head - actually, physically smacked him. "Maybe you're the one that's too big!"

"Look around you. You're the shortest person here!" Cole pointed out, rubbing the spot Jay had hit him at. "You know, I'd be very mad at you if this wasn't the first time we met."

"Well, get used to it." Jay stuck his tongue out at him. "Because you'll be stuck with me for the entire year."

A thing Cole was quick to notice about Jay, was how he stumbled on his words. He didn't have any problems understanding him, but he stuttered way more often than on the phone. Cole assumed it was probably just his excitement getting the best of him.

"So, what's the plan?" the taller guy asked, shoving his hands into his hoodie's pocket.

Jay tilted his head, clearly not sure how to answer. "You're asking me?"

"How far is Ninjago Academy?"

"Eh, not very far… I hope."

Cole chuckled. "Let's find out then."

On their way to the city center, the two boys talked about everything and anything. Jay was jumping up and down in excitement as he spoke. He was a real blabber, while Cole was more of a listener.

It seemed as if Jay's body was shaking more than the wheels of his suitcase. He didn't look like he was uncomfortable, but Cole could tell he was nervous. He couldn't blame him: He knew that Jay wasn't very good at socializing, but he was doing his best regardless.

That didn't stop Cole from looking at him though. He would have never imagined Jay would look so… stunning, in real life. Pictures were nowhere close to the short guy's charm.

Cole could actually see the curls on Jay's brunet hair. The sun illuminated on Jay's eyes, making them shine more bright than Cole's phone screen in the mornings. His freckles only added to his cuteness.

And his _laugh_ , oh, his laugh. It sounded way more melodic than any of his dad's quartet's songs. It was almost unfair that Cole had been deprived such beauty all his life.

Cole was so in love with each and every one of the details on Jay's face, he was in love with the way he acted, the way he spoke, the way he laughed-

Cole was so in love with Jay.

Suddenly, the warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest grew dramatically. His heart pounded loudly, and Cole couldn't help but worry whether Jay could actually hear it or not.

Thankfully for him, they arrived at Ninjago Academy before he passed out.

Their room was nice and cozy. It was as big as his own room back at home, only now, he would have to share it with Jay.

"I call dibs on this bed!" Jay yelled excitedly, and jumped on the bed at the right side of the room. "Be jealous, it's soft!"

Cole rolled his eyes. "It's probably the same as my own, Sparky." he put his suitcase down, opening it.

"Yeah, but your bed doesn't have me on it."

Cole almost choked. "What?"

"What?"

Cole and Jay stared at each other from across the room in silence. Cole tried to process Jay's words: Had he heard him correctly?

"Sorry," Cole shook his head and let go of an awkward laugh. "I just thought you said-"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

Cole looked back at Jay again. The boy was sitting on his bed, his legs crossed, and his hands in his lap.

"No 'what' back this time?" Cole asked, letting go of his suitcase and walking over to Jay's bed. "You okay?"

Jay nodded. "I think…"

Cole jumped on the bed next to Jay, leaning against the wall. "Hey. We finally got rid of that annoying distance. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Jay nodded again. "I'm just scared of messing up, I guess."

Cole was surprised to see that Jay admitted what was bothering him that easily. It seemed as if that whatever was on his mind had been there for a long time.

"Go on." Cole gestured for him to continue.

"All my life, I've been alone. I've never really had any friends, so I don't talk to anyone unless I have to."

Cole nodded in comprehension. "You've told me about that before."

"I know." Jay bit his lip. "And I guess this is why I talk a lot too. That's what my ma said, at least; I have so many things to say but don't know when to talk about them, so whenever I'm in a conversation, I go on and on and on, and then, oh, look at the time! Half the day had already went by!"

Jay sighed, letting himself fall back and sink into the bed.

"What I am trying to say is… I'm scared." Jay finally admitted. "I'm scared because I want this to be special and I'm clearly not going to succeed in that."

It was strange to hear Jay's vents come from his mouth. Similarly to Jay, Cole didn't have many friends either, and having someone open up to him - while being in front of him - was new to him. Cole was so used to reading about Jay's problems that-

The idea came to him as fast as lightning strikes earth. Cole reached for his phone, starting to type something.

Jay was too busy staring at the ceiling to notice. It was only when his notification sound went off, two seconds later, that Jay realised something was going on.

Thinking his mom had texted him, Jay turned his phone on, but was surprised to see that the message he had recieved was from Cole.

Sitting up, Jay looked at Cole. The taller guy simply shrugged, making Jay even more curious to see what he was up to.

Without wasting another second, Jay checked his phone.

' _How is that guy Cole treating ya? :P'_

Once again, Jay looked over at Cole, clearly confused by the whole situation, especially once he saw that Cole was typing another message.

' _Hellooooo, another there?'_

Jay huffed, his lips forming a smile.

' _You idiot, I'm right next to you.'_

' _Are you though? :3'_

' _I can't believe I'm still friends with you XD'_

' _Your choice ;)'_

Jay's grin widened even more. He couldn't believe that after all this time of wanting to meet Cole face to face, he was waving at his through a glass.

Jay leaned to his right, resting on his pillow. He started typing his message with only his right hand, to enjoy how warm and fuzzy his new bed covers were.

' _You're lucky to have me, shush.'_

' _I never said anything that goes against that thoooo!'_

' _Hnnnnn, okay, you win. I'll get you ice cream once we meet irl W'_

Jay played with the ends of the blankets on his bed. It was as if it was wrapped around the softest blanket in Ninjago. The warmth quickly spread to his entire body, giving him a feeling of satisfaction.

' _Just ice cream? :c'_

' _AND cuddles :3'_

For the longest time, Jay had daydreamed about cuddling with Cole once they met. It started off as an innocent thought. Jay was lacking physical affection. He would often hug his plushies, wishing he had someone that wanted to share their affection with him.

As the months went by, Jay became more and more overwhelmed by that thought. All he wanted was to sit back and relax in Cole's arms and listen to the rhythm of his heartbeat. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that those thoughts were more than 'just friendly'.

Jay was desperate. His body was there with him, but his heart had travelled away from it, caressing Cole's cheek.

' _I sure am looking forward to that :D'_

' _Why the evil face? Lmao'_

' _Jay, look around you for a second.'_

What was Cole talking about? Jay lowered his phone screen, doing as his friend had adviced him to.

Jay yelped. Loudly.

All this time, his pillow was no else than Cole himself. The bed covers on his hand were his friend's hand, cupping his own. The warmth was coming from the very same person he thought about every single day of his life ever since he met him.

Jay bit the inside of his cheek, too shocked to say anything.

"Cole, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't apologise, dum-dum." Cole chuckled. "Besides, you owe me one!"

Jay was about to say something, but he closed his mouth as he realised there was really nothing to be said. He sighed, relaxing into Cole's arms, which Cole had now wrapped around Jay.

All these daydreams had finally come true, and the sensation was better than he could have ever imagined.

"You know…" Cole spoke quietly, breaking the silence. "When I texted you back at Steep Wisdom's, I had actually already spotted you."

"Then why didn't you walk up to me?" Jay asked, keeping his voice equally quiet.

"Because I didn't know how." Cole said, clearly embarassed.

Jay chuckled. "Are you sure you weren't just mesmerized by my looks?"

Cole took a deep breath. "Maybe."

 _Maybe._

What did 'maybe' mean?

"... No laughing emoji?" Jay suggested, not sure how to respond.

"Not this time, Bluejay." Cole said, tightening his grip of him.

"Damn in, Cole." Jay chuckled.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "What's with laughing out of the blue?"

"It's just that," Jay began, ignoring his fear of speaking up. "all this time, all those hearts you put at the end of your messages actually meant something."

Cole's cheeks flushed red, and although Jay couldn't see him - as his back was facing him - he felt the need to cover them up.

"I can't believe you've been flirting with me for months and I was oblivious to it all."

Cole wanted the earth to swallow him. "I suppose you know now-"

"But it's not just me that was oblivious to feelings like that." Jay interrupted him, turning around to face him.

"What? You're not the only one that-" Cole gasped once he realised what Jay meant. "Jay?"

Jay chuckled. "I feel the same way, you goof."

Cole felt his back ten times lighter, and his cheeks ten times brighter. "You do?"

Jay nodded, smiling widely. "You should have told me earlier. Now you're the one that owes me ice cream!"

An offended expression decorated Cole's face. "Excuse me? I've been trying to get you to notice for months now!"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Fair enough. You can have your stupid ice cream."

"How about sticking to hugs for now?" Cole scratched the back of his neck. "Surely, you must be too tired to go out in the city at this hour-"

"My speech isn't done, you moron." Jay interrupted him again.

"I thought you didn't like talking?"

"Yes, but this is special!" Jay pouted, crossing his arms. "You should have told me earlier, but it doesn't matter, because I would have never gathered up the courage to tell you myself."

"Are you done now?"

"Yep."

"Good." Cole said, pulling Jay into another hug. "We can unpack everything tomorrow. Now it's my turn to make a speech."

Jay couldn't help but giggle while he was being pulled into Cole's arms. "What is it?"

"I love you."

It almost seemed impossible that such happiness could be felt. Jay felt as if his entire face was going to blow up from overheating.

Jay had to bite into his lip in order for his smile not to grow more. He made himself comfortable in Cole's chest, not planning on leaving any time soon. "Shut up or I'll squeal."

"Mmm, whatever you say, Blue." Cole rolled his eyes before closing them, ready to enjoy the moment. "Silence hour it is."

'Silence hour, huh?' Jay thought, reaching for his phone. He quickly typed one last thing, and tossed it to the other side of the bed. 'Let's see if you've actually set your phone to silent mode.'

Once Cole heard the ringing noise, Jay went back to hugging him, not needing to look to know how huge Cole's grin would be when he read the text.

' _I love you too 3'_

 _Message Received._

Meaningless to say, Jay wasn't mistaken.

* * *

 **I was having a shower (which is when all of my most creative ideas are born XD), and I was like "wHAT IF COLE AND JAY TEXTED EACH OTHER WHILE HOLDING HANDS!?"**

 **As you could probably tell, I added many more stuff to this idea, oops.**

 **ANYWAY, ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS, OH BOY!**

 **As I said before, I have a lot of online friends. I love them all. To death. This one-shot was inspired by my experience - not that I have met any of my friends irl yet, but I'm getting there, hopefully! - and I wanted to share my feelings on this subject with you all.**

 **I know that having online friends is a struggle, as they live so far away. People sometimes call you crazy and 'not normal', and my goal here was to prove these statements wrong, mwahahaha!**

 **Here's a scratched line from this one-shot:**

 _"Jay took a quick glance at Cole, who had already started to type his message. He looked so focused when typing. His expression reminded of a normal conversation, and assurance filled Jay's lugs; Maybe those two years of talking weren't that different from a 'real' friendship."_

 **And this is the entire meaning of this one-shot :D I wish I could have included that paragraph into the fic itself, but it's already stretched and it would ruin the experience, oops. I thought it was important to share with you all though!**

 **Even if meeting up with your friends seems impossible right now, if you want it hard enough, the universe WILL hear you, and it WILL happen. Just keep believing in yourself and in your friends, because I believe in you! ^^**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


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